For me yoga started as something I did every now and then but wasn’t anything more than that until years later. I was suffering badly with anxiety and depression after an injury threw my life into chaos. Someone suggested I try yoga to help. I wasn’t convinced but I returned to class and couldn’t believe the difference I felt in just one class. I was hooked! I could leave everything behind at the door and just be on my mat in a safe and tranquil environment. Since then my life has changed immeasurably as yoga has crept into more and more areas of my life my without realising.

These benefits, this journey is something I want to pass on to as many people as I can. I’ve seen the difference yoga can make, how it can change lives and that is why I chose to teach. As people become more and more stressed with the hectic pace of life, there is a real need for people to stop, slow down and mindfully live in the moment. Just to BE. Yoga fosters a sense of  wellbeing, self acceptance, positivity and compassion to yourself and others. Things that are often put aside in the mad rush to do everything for everyone else whilst forgetting about yourself. Yoga teaches us that we can’t look after anything without taking care of ourselves.

For many the gateway into yoga practice is the physical aspect, as it has huge health benefits for rehabilitation from injury, illness or just general health and preventative care. Often people will discover changes they weren’t expecting and that’s wonderful as everyone has their unique journey. Yoga philosophy creeps in and starts making its impact. Whilst it takes a lifetime (or many) to fully understand these concepts and I am only at the very beginning I hope to make more and more discoveries which I can share with people as they made their way on their yoga journey.

The majority of people already have their core ethical and moral guidelines which inform their lives, integrating the ideas set out in ‘The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’, as the Yamas and Niyamas can serve to remind people of these and get them thinking about them in possibly new ways. Yoga’s non-dogmatic or prescriptive concepts mean that these elements can be taken and used by anyone. Yoga can be anything to anyone no matter what their beliefs as long as there is intention. It is hugely welcoming and inclusive to all, which is what I love about it – it is a wonderful community sending love and positivity across the world.